An Amtrak train traveling from New York to Miami collided with a CSX freight train early Sunday morning in Lexington County, South Carolina, causing the lead engine and some passenger cars to derail.
Officials confirmed there were at least two people killed and 70 injured among the 139 passengers and 8 crew.
Authorities said it was not immediately clear why the two trains collided near Cayce, South Carolina. The sheriff’s department said all passengers were off the train, with the injured transported to local medical facilities.
The Red Cross said its trained volunteers and staff were also responding.
South Carolina’s Emergency Management Division said 5,000 gallons of fuel was spilled as a result of the crash, with Hazmat responding to the scene. Officials said there was no further threat to the public.
The National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, said it was sending a team to the site of the crash.
It was the second major Amtrak incident in less than a week. On Wednesday, a train carrying Republican members of Congress to a retreat in West Virginia collided with a garbage truck. One person on the truck was killed.